Information is vital to day-to-day activities. With no access to information, people cannot function efficiently in this society, and their lives and financial well-being are put in jeopardy. People want to be well-informed, so much so that when they are travelling in automobiles, they tune into local radio stations to listen to news, weather forecasts and traffic conditions. For that matter, some automobiles are equipped with audiovisual systems including television (TV) receivers. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,443 issued to Hirata. The Hirata system provides audiovisual information in a number of modes including a TV mode, which may be selected by control switches disposed on the periphery of a display.
Automobile users like to be continually updated with information affecting their travel plans such as weather and traffic conditions because of its fast changing nature. Automobile users who are traveling also like to continually keep in touch with their homes and offices, and to confirm appointments and hotel reservations so that they can adjust their itineraries accordingly. To that end, cellular mobile telephones were introduced to enable automobile users to conduct business and contact their families while they are traveling.
In addition, local map information is important to automobile travelers moving from one locale to another. As such, navigation systems were developed to help reach their destinations in an unfamiliar milieu. One such vehicle navigation system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,560 issued to LaRue. The disclosed system is based on artificial intelligence and provides a driver with directions via a voice interface. The system is built upon an optical disk player which can be used for entertainment as well. Digitized maps, compressed voice records and computer programs are stored on an optical disk compatible with the disk player. After a destination point is identified, the disclosed system finds the best route from the digitized maps and guides the driver therethrough via the voice interface, taking into account the latest traffic conditions received by an FM receiver to avoid congestion.
Recently, navigation systems based on military global positioning system (GPS) technology have emerged. One such navigation system is commercially available as an option for the latest model of the ACURA 3.5 RL automobile. This ACURA navigation system receives signals from a constellation of satellites which is part of the GPS. In response to these signals, the navigation system pinpoints the automobile's location (in latitude and longitude). It also detects the automobile's speed and direction. With geographic information stored on a hard disk in an onboard computer, the navigation system is capable of verbally and visually communicating to the user instructions for reaching the destination.
In addition to the above techniques for communications with automobile users, a technique for disseminating information regarding the automobiles themselves is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,553 issued to Parillo. The disclosed system is a vehicle diagnostic and software upgrade system. In this system, sensors are provided in the vehicle to generate dynamic data relating to various mechanical controls and the engine of the vehicle, including engine R.P.M., fuel/air mixture, emissions and pollution content information. A microprocessor in the vehicle has access to selectable program parameters affecting the functioning of the mechanical controls. The microprocessor collects and transmits the dynamic data to a remote diagnostic station periodically or upon its request. In response, the remote station sends, to the vehicle, signals indicative of any changes in its software and/or program parameters. The microprocessor accordingly causes the changes to be made in the vehicle based on the received signals.
Besides the communication capabilities described above, an automobile has many accessories and user control elements such as lights, wipers, a clock, temperature control, cruise control, seat adjustment control, mirror adjustment control, and an anti-theft system. A technique for centralizing the command of the individual control elements is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,502 issued to Opel. The disclosed system includes a centralized control panel on a steering wheel which, together with a display, is utilized to control the electronic components of the automobile. The display is positioned in the area of the driver's sun visor. After the driver presses one of the buttons on the control panel corresponding to a desired electronic component, a menu is displayed so that the driver is able to select items from the menu to program the component. The selection is accomplished by pressing specified buttons on the panel.
In addition, a technique for controlling vehicle accessories via voice command is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,520 issued to Zeinstra. In accordance with this technique, control functions of each accessory are formatted in a summary page for display on a screen, which is scanned by infrared light to sense any touching thereon. By uttering any of the displayed functions on the summary page, preceded by either a specified keyword or an actuation of a push-to-talk switch on a steering wheel, a more detailed subpage of the selected function is displayed for further selection by voice. As an alternative to the voice command, the selection can also be accomplished by touching the displayed function on the screen.
Voice command and touch screen techniques are frequently mentioned in prior art references in controlling car accessories. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,707 issued to Fujimoto et al. discloses a system for voice-controlling equipment inside a vehicle, including microphones capable of discriminating voice commands as to whether they are generated at the driver side or at the assistant side of the vehicle in a noisy environment.